School Restructuring Idea Opposed : Westlake High: Trustees told the principal his plan would give students too much freedom.

A plan to restructure Westlake High School’s class schedule has come under fire by Thousand Oaks school board members who say it leaves students free to roam or leave campus with no supervision.

Although they did not vote on the plan proposed during Thursday’s meeting of the Conejo Valley Unified School Board, all five trustees opposed parts of the plan presented by Westlake Principal Curt L. Luft.

“I don’t see anything in here that’s going to be easy to do or attract what you think it’s going to attract,” Trustee Richard Newman told Luft and two other Westlake staff members.

Much of the board’s criticism was directed at a proposed “A period” that would give students 41 minutes every Thursday afternoon and Friday morning to seek academic help, counseling assistance or to work on school projects, such as science labs.

Luft said the open period would also give teachers time to coordinate lessons tying together several subject areas. Parent volunteers, he said, would be recruited to help monitor the campus.

The plan also called for students to attend a daily homeroom and two days of longer 95-minute classes, similar to a “block schedule” adopted by Newbury Park High School last fall. Longer classes, Luft said, would allow students to develop better relationships with teachers and become more immersed in academic lessons.

“We’re not saying this is the definite plan for Westlake,” he said. “What we’re asking for is for you to let us try it.”

But school board members attacked the “A period” idea, saying it provided no organized way of keeping tabs on the school’s 1,700 pupils.

Trustee Mildred Lynch said she feared many students would take advantage of the unstructured time and leave campus.

“How in the world are you going to keep track of them?” she asked. “And if you don’t keep track of them, they’re gone.”

Newman said he feared that the open period would become an “attractive nuisance” and leave the district liable if unsupervised students were injured.

“When we have no idea where they are, I think we’re really concerned from a legal standpoint,” he said.

And Trustee Bill Henry blasted the overall presentation, saying it lacked enthusiasm and commitment.

At least one other Ventura County high school has tried setting aside certain periods of unstructured time.

Ventura High School two years ago launched what it called “advisement periods,” two 20-minute sessions weekly for students to meet with faculty or hold group discussions on such topics as moral values or improving study skills.

But the Ventura High faculty was split on the merits of the sessions and voted to cancel the periods midyear.

Westlake board members praised other aspects of the plan, developed by a committee of parents and teachers. Conejo Valley board member Dorothy Beaubien said she favored the daily homeroom and 95-minute classes.

Before a lengthy discussion on Westlake’s plan, the board voted to allow Newbury Park High School to continue its scheduling experiment for a second year.

Correspondent Maia Davis contributed to this report.